Etymology

tabby

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Today it means: A kind of waved silk, usually called watered silk, manufactured like taffeta, but thicker and stronger. The watering is given to it by calendering. Full definition →

French tabis ← Arabic عَتَّابِيّ ← Persian تافته
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tabby · noun, adjective, verb1

  1. Persian · derived fromتافته“woven cloth”
  2. Arabic · derived fromالْعَتَّابِيَّة
  3. Arabic · derived fromعَتَّابِيّ
  4. French · derived fromtabis
  5. English todaytabby

Mid 17th century French tabis, from Arabic عَتَّابِيّ (ʕattābiyy), ultimately from Arabic الْعَتَّابِيَّة (al-ʕattābiyya), a quarter of Baghdad (named for a Prince عَتَّاب (ʕattāb)) which is associated with the manufacture of a certain type of waved silk. See also taffeta, another type of silk whose name derives from the Persian تافته (tâfta, “woven cloth”) and shares a similar etymological origin.

Tabby · proper noun2

Diminutive + -y.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.